B.Y.O.M. Bring your own mochi. That is what the note said that my yochien (kindergarten) son brought home. The note had been folded several times and completely forgotten about until he dug down, several days later, into his pocket to find one of his treasures that he finds outside on the ground and carefully saves for ... well, do you need a "for" reason when you are 6?
One of the hardest things for me this time round in Japan is the never ending paperwork from the schools, all of which is in Japanese of course. Never have I understood the pains of being illiterate up until now. Which of all these papers are important?
At first I prevailed upon a volunteer to translate for me but as she felt it vital to explain all the papers -- even the ones that are like advertisements for book companies and health clinics -- I felt like the onegai (favor asking so to speak) was too much. I have since asked the teachers to put a star on the important papers -- now either my spoken Japanese is at the same level as my reading -- or the papers they have sent home to not deem high enough to inherit that star. We have missed activities, have shown up at the wrong time, and sent kids totally unequipped because of this Japanese illiteracy.
The only reason I knew about the B.Y.O.M. is because it had a date on it and I could tell it was a note about something the kids were to attend. I called another kindergarten mom and she exlpained that this was about "Mochi making day" for the kids. They needed to bring a cup or bowl to eat from, some chop-sticks ... and the mochi (pounded rice) -- two pieces of mochi to be precise. And, yes, as a foreigner I laughed at the BYOM concept -- isn't it like saying we are going to have a class birthday party! and please bring a plate, a fork, and two pieces of birthday cake ...bringing ice-cream is optional.
